Catalog
| Issuer | S. Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1792 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 11 PRIMO FEBRARO MILLE SETECENTTO NOVANTADUE S. M. DI PIETA DI ROMA La presente Cedola vale Scudi Romani Undici da giulj dieci per Scudo da pagarsi all` Esibitore. |
| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse printed in letterpress with the denomination repeated multiple times across the surface in bold type, arranged in a grid-like pattern filling all four quadrants. The word UNDICI and the numeral 11 appear in multiple positions, with faint manuscript notations visible between the printed denomination blocks. |
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| Comments |
The Monte di Pietà in Rome was one of the oldest pawnbroking institutions in Europe, founded in 1539 under papal authority to provide low-interest loans to the poor as a direct counter to usurious moneylending. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into something closer to a deposit bank, and its circulating notes — backed by pledged goods held in the Monte's vaults — carried a credibility that purely fiat instruments issued by secular governments often lacked in the Papal States.
The denomination of 11 Scudi is characteristically awkward, reflecting loan valuations rather than round-figure monetary convenience. These notes were instruments of credit against specific pledged assets, not banknotes in the modern sense.